Someone Like You
by Starlight Musings
Summary: Rukia has to leave, Ichigo's world shatters. He had just bought the perfect gift for her birthday, and now she's gone for five years. Becoming very depressed, he rarely speaks, until Orihime tries to help him. Can she break through his depression? DISCONTINUED
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1- Don't Forget Me

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They stood there outside Ichigo's house silently, not minding the harsh December breeze. It was the day after Christmas in Karakura, but possibly the saddest moment in all of Japan. The Head Captain relocated Rukia to far East Tokyo, where there was a recent outbreak of fairly strong Hollows. She was to be gone for five years, about to leave. They had known about the change for only a few days, and Rukia had almost no time to pack. Ichigo had not informed Orihime, Chad, Ishida, or anybody else, for that matter. He didn't want to talk about it.

"So...I'm leaving today, Ichigo." Rukia tried to hide the sadness in her violet eyes, staring at the ground like it was a foreign object.

"Not like I wasn't aware, Rukia!" Ichigo almost sounded angry that Rukia was leaving, more than upset. Angry with the Head Captain, maybe? Startled by the harsh tone, Rukia's head snapped up in surprise, ready to drop kick the fool for using that tone of voice with her, but she stopped herself so the moment wouldn't be ruined.

"I'm so sorry, Ichigo. I wish there was something I could do, but this was the Head Captain's direct orders..." This time, Rukia stared Ichigo straight in the eyes, trying not to show any emotion. She almost let a tear slip out, but she hastily looked away.

"Nothing, huh..." Ichigo almost looked like his life was slowly being drained out of him. "I can talk to Yamamoto about this, right? Maybe he'll listen and change his mind-" He was cut off by Rukia's outburst.

"That's impossible, Ichigo! Don't you see? There is no talking to the Head Captain, especially so last minute! It's time to face reality, fool!" Rukia glared at Ichigo for a quick second before stray tears fell down her cheeks.

"Rukia...I won't let you leave for five years. I will talk to Yamamoto or even the goddamn Central 46 if I have to!" Ichigo actually sounded desperate for his cause to prevail instead of cocky and overly-proud. After that last sentence, silence took over the atmosphere for a few minutes, before Rukia spoke up.

"...Give my best regards to Inoue-san and the others, Ichigo. It's time," Rukia said softly, so timidly it was hard to hear, like a small whisper. Another breeze, a bit stronger, blew through the area around the house, sending shivers up their spines. Rukia's Shinigami uniform fluttered in the wind, making her look even smaller than she already was. Almost simultaneously, Ichigo and Rukia folded their arms for warmth before looking back up at each other.

"So, this is it, Rukia," Ichigo quietly said, the wind carrying his words away.

"No, only for now, not for good, fool! It's not like I won't come back..." Rukia said a bit louder, determined to prove a point. Then, almost painfully, her voice returned to its previous soft state.

"Don't forget me, I'm begging you, Ichigo, don't forget our memories together." Rukia whispered before another tear escaped her eye. Before Ichigo could protest, she had used Shunpo and left, without another word. Ichigo barely had time to register what had just happened.

"She's gone..." Ichigo thought, or spoke out loud, he wasn't even sure of that anymore.

"And her birthday was just next month," he solemnly thought. "I already had her present..." Ichigo stuffed his hand in his pocket and wrapped his hand around a small box he had just bought earlier in the day, containing a small charm bracelet with a Chappy charm and five others, spelling out her name. He had just bought it today, eager to get the new Chappy wrapping paper tomorrow. Ichigo gave out a long, sad sigh, silently walking back inside. It had just gotten much, much colder in his opinion.

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She didn't know what to do. Rukia was pacing the streets of the citites in far East Tokyo, occasionally killing a few wandering Hollows and performing one Konso on a lost soul. Her job was much more fun with someone to bicker with the whole time.

"I miss Karakura," Rukia thought, still wandering the crowded streets with Sode no Shirayuki in hand. These streets and people were unfamiliar, and it was hard to kill a Hollow in such a crowded area.

"It's only five years, right?"

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Ichigo stormed up to his room, ignoring his sister, Yuzu, calling him for dinner.

"It's that late?" Ichigo muttered to himself when he sat on his messy bed. He dug into his pocket and pulled out the box, proceeding to place it on his dresser. All he could think about was Rukia. Her height was actually sort of cute, making her look so innocent, and that lock of raven-black hair that fell between her deep violet eyes made a lovely statement on her porcelain-like skin.

"Five years...who knows where I'll be then?" Ichigo plopped back on his bed in depression. He covered his eyes with his right arm, hoping this was all some twisted, sick dream. When he heard Yuzu's call again, he had to face reality and get up before his dad punched his neck to get him going downstairs. Lazily, Ichigo dragged himself off the bed before placing the charm bracelet in the closet where Rukia usually slept in before walking downstairs. He paused when opening the door, taking note of the folded sheets and neat area. It was like Rukia was never there to begin with. Just as badly, he slumped in his chair, not wanting to eat right then. Yuzu looked upset, her twin sister, Karin, looked pissed, and his dad almost punched Ichigo before realizing something was seriously wrong.

"Ichigo, what is it? And where is Rukia, my precious, beautiful third daughter?" He made a weird face that received a glare from Karin. Isshin had just answered his own question. Being a former Shinigami captain himself, he knew Rukia had left due to orders. After a moment of silence, all Isshin could muster was a small "Oh," before returning to his meal. His sisters simply gave him looks of pity, considering they only knew a fraction of what Ichigo was enduring.

"I...have to go." Ichigo simply put before hastily getting up out of his chair and going back to his room. Nobody said anything, but they silently agreed to let Ichigo be.

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"Eh? Kuchiki-san left?" Inoue exclaimed as a wave of sadness could be seen on her face. She messed with the ends of her long hair, not knowing what to say. Kuchiki-san and she were starting to become fairly close friends, and now she had to leave for five whole years? How unfair!

"Did she say why?" Ishida questioned, pushing up his glasses just enough for the light to reflect off of them.

"Yeah, apparently East Tokyo had some Hollow outbreak or something and she was reassigned over there," Ichigo said with a depressed look on his face and tired eyes, had he not been sleeping? Chad just let out an upset grunt, while Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro had looks of pity that outdid Yuzu and Karin's.

"You know what might cheer you up? I say we all go ice skating tomorrow at say, four in the afternoon for a break!" Tatsuki gave a small smile, hoping her long-time friend would smile, too. Instead, Ichigo had some emotionless look across his face, as if in a trance.

"Kurosaki-kun? A-Are you okay?" Inoue took a step towards Ichigo and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. When Ichigo touched her hand, Inoue's face flushed, but Ichigo just stared at the ground.

"Thank you for caring, guys. And Inoue, thank you, but," Ichigo simply walked away, leaving his friends dumbstruck and just standing there in the December chills. He couldn't bear to talk to anyone anymore; something would come up and remind him of Rukia. He made a decision: it would be best to remain silent for the time being. Until Rukia comes back home.

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"I'm worried for his mental state at this point," Ishida spoke up, causing heads to turn. "If he keeps this up, I'm afraid he might kill himself if we don't do something,"

"We can't let Kurosaki-kun do that, Ishida-kun!" With a distressed look on her face, Inoue rushed by his side, giving a hopeful look to everyone else. Tatsuki spoke up about arranging the skating rendezvous, Keigo over-excitedly planned bowling for next week while Chad and Mizuiro agreed to everything they came up with to cheer their upset friend up.

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Orihime shyly took Ichigo's hand while they skated, considering Ichigo didn't seem to know or care where he was going anymore. Tatsuki was having a race against Ishida and Keigo while Chad and Mizuiro just skated separately in silence.

"So, Kurosaki-kun, how do you feel?" Orihime gently asked, squeezing Ichigo's hand. He gave no response, just stared at nothing with those same sleep-deprived eyes.

"I understand, losing someone close to you can be really difficult, I felt the same way when my brother, well, died." Orihime glanced at the ground when she mentioned her late brother. She quickly looked up and gave Ichigo a smile so he wouldn't feel any worse about anything, if that were possible. Tatsuki and Ishida flew past, neck-in-neck in their race around the perimeter of the ring. Keigo, on the other hand, had picked up speed, but was still far behind the other two. Chad and Mizuiro had gotten hungry and were watching from a booth nearby, eating some pizza.

"Kurosaki-kun, I'm hungry, how about you?" No response. "How about we join Sado-kun and Mizuiro-kun for pizza and soda?" No response. After patiently waiting a few minutes, Orihime's stomach growled. She heavily blushed, how could her stomach do that to her!

"Sure..." Ichigo had finally spoken since yesterday! Orihime was overjoyed that he had said something, and she enthusiastically pulled Ichigo out of the ring and over to the booth where Chad and Mizuiro were having a quiet conversation about...nothing, really. Just a few words, silence, a new subject of few words, and so on. They looked up, and Mizuiro smiled when Orihime and Ichigo sat down by them.

"Hey, Ichigo." Mizuiro calmly said, smiling toward his friend, praying for a reaction. When nothing happened, Inoue got up and took Ichigo's hand.

"Oh! We don't have drinks yet. We'll be right back!" Orihime chirped before taking an emotionless Ichigo toward the concessions. When they approached the counter, a pimply teenager with a bored expression lazily asked them their order.

"Umm...I'll have a small Mountain Dew," Inoue said before turning to Ichigo. "Do you want anything, Kurosaki-kun? You have to eat or drink something!" Orihime gave Ichigo a small, but concerned smile and squeezed his hand. Then, the auburn-haired girl remembered his favorite soda was Coke and he like hotdogs. "Kurosaki-kun will have a medium Coke and a regular hotdog." Orihime smiled politely, quickly pointed to a blank Ichigo, and then looked up to see if he had even moved. Nope.

"That'll be ¥1200, ma'am." The bored kid extended his hand when Inoue paid for the food. He didn't even give a simple "Thank you," but they strolled off anyway. When they got there, Tatsuki, Ishida, and Keigo were sitting in the booth, snacking on some pepperoni pizza.

"Hey, you're here, Orihime, Ichigo!" Tatsuki, sitting next to Mizuiro, smiled at her friends and patted the space next to her for Orihime, while Ishida and Keigo moved over a bit on Sado's side for Ichigo to sit. When Orihime had sat, she motioned for Ichigo to sit, too. When he moved, completely on his own with hardly any persuasion, the entire table gave smiles for their friend. Orihime opened Ichigo's hotdog and placed it in front of him, along with his Coke. It was at that moment everyone stopped and waited for Ichigo to eat. It was six o'clock, anyway. When he picked up his hotdog and took a small bite, the entire table clapped and cheered for him on his "Road to Recovery."

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Rukia felt absolutely horrible, and it had only been a day. She had been put through Hell three times over. The air was polluted and the Hollows got worse at night, so there wasn't much time to sleep. She had nowhere to stay, so a Gigai was just about useless in her situation. All she could do was wander and look for Hollows, souls, or a place to stay. Why couldn't they send someone else? A chilling breeze spread through the area by the radio tower Rukia was balancing on, causing her hair and uniform to swirl around violently. By this time, Tokyo was still fairly crowded, but not quite as bad as it had been earlier.

"I really hope Ichigo is okay...he should be okay." Rukia thought. Really, she was worried sick, especially after seeing his face when she left; it really broke her small, fragile heart. "I'll find someone like him...no, I just...can't."

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**Hiyas! I'm new to Fanfiction, and guess who already has the first chapter up? Alright, so in this story, Ichigo fell for Rukia, but she was relocated to Eastern Tokyo sometime after Aizen's fall. He bought the perfect gift, and now everything is ruined. Ichigo becomes very depressed over this, Orihime tries to cheer him up. Very simple. Review if you want the second chapter, cuz its waiting in my computer right now, okay? NO FLAMES. Until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

HAHA! 2 CHAPTERS IN A DAY! Feelin' good

Also, thanks to **GuiltyIchihime** for reviewing! It really meant a lot to hear good feedback

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Ichigo POV

I don't know. I don't care. At least, not anymore. I'll be fine when Rukia comes back, I'm sure. But I almost can feel her reiatsu! Almost. Not really, just an impossible wish and a bad joke my mind is playing on me. I want to ignore this, but Rukia is always on my mind. I'm not sure what do, but who cares? Not even Inoue can help, Rukia will. Just simply put, I think I love Rukia. No, I do. It went from repaying debt to her to slowly, but truly, falling in love with her. I almost feel bad for Renji, he obviously loves Rukia, too, but he really does have a better shot. I'm just the new guy with a dream. Maybe, just maybe, I can find someone like her...except that's impossible, too, isn't it?

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Orihime POV

So far, Kurosaki-kun hasn't done too much...maybe I should cook for him tonight over at my place, under the soft candlelight, peacefully quiet- I'm getting ahead of myself! Anyway, a week has passed since Kurosaki-kun lost Rukia, and he's been looking paler and tired. Is he not eating or sleeping at all? He must be really heartbroken! But I have taken it up on myself to help him through these five years, and I think the roller rink helped a lot; dinner at my place will be much better. Today, Asano-san and Tatsuki-chan set up a few rounds of bowling this afternoon, and I'm excited, but I hope Ichigo feels anything about it.

This time, he has to participate just a bit to play, I mean, everyone has to bowl! It's fun!

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Ichigo POV

Apparently, I'm bowling today. I don't think there is much of a way to get out of this. I need to be alone, but I once overheard Ishida talking about me possibly killing myself. It sounds like a good idea, but I'm making myself wait for Rukia to return. I have to be in perfect shape for her. The doorbell rung. I hear knocking. It sounds like Yuzu is getting the door. I hear a voice, no, two. Inoue and... Ishida. I can hear something else, then a grunt, so Chad must have come, too. Why can't I be left alone?

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Uryu POV

I followed Inoue-san upstairs to Kurosaki's room. She must be in some crazy hurry, I'm concerned she's gonna trip on the stairs or over her own feet. She's been the most worried, is it possible that she has feelings for Kurosaki? She does know of the chance that they will not be returned, considering Kurosaki is obviously in love with Kuchiki-san, no matter how strongly he may deny it later. I hope he doesn't kill himself or do anything stupid.

When we arrive in Kurosaki's room, even Kon seemed down. Even though Inoue-san walked in the room, Kon only looked up, sighed, and walked into the closet. Kurosaki was laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Everything about him was a real mess, and he looked pale, and did he drop a few pounds?

"Kurosaki, we're preparing to leave for bowling," I broke the silence. Inoue looked over with a hopeful smile, Sado gave a grunt, and Ichigo...did absolutely nothing.

"Inoue-san, Sado-kun, help me get Kurosaki on his feet," I motioned for my friends to come closer while I grabbed Kurosaki's feet. Sado-kun and Inoue-san each grabbed a hand, boosting Kurosaki to his feet. With Sado-kun doing a lot of the work, he was up, but not moving. He really looked dead. Inoue-san looked horribly worried, and Sado-kun didn't even grunt. Inoue-san grabbed Kurosaki's left hand and gently pulled him downstairs, Sado-kun and I following right behind her. Kurosaki was still in a daze; God knows what was going through his head. When we got to the door, Ichigo did something nobody expected: he resisted. When Inoue-san tried to bring him outside, she almost fell back in surprise. We just stood there in shock for a minute before deciding we had no choice but to force him outside. Inoue-san pulled his arms while Sado-kun and I pushed from behind. This kid was crazy strong, he was barely trying and we hadn't gotten very far, at least, until Sado-kun used his full strength and picked Kurosaki up the ground, slung him over his shoulder, and calmly walked outside like this was normal. I just stood there by the door, while Inoue-san followed in slight shock.

"Y-You're going to carry Kurosaki-kun there?" Inoue-san simply asked, dumbfounded. All Sado-kun did was look back, nod, and give a grunt. Everyone had to accept it and move on. I adjusted my glasses before proceeding to follow. As long as Kurosaki got to bowling unharmed, we succeeded. I feel really bad for him, losing Rukia must be tough. I'm glad Inoue-san is trying so hard; he could be making progress on the inside. This makes me wonder myself: Vice Captain of the Twelfth Division Kurotsuchi Nemu. I might like her a bit, though I would never admit it to anyone. I wonder if she even thinks about me in her spare time, especially after fighting Szayel Apparo-Grantz in Hueco Mundo and she shoved her breasts in my face to suffocate me. Was that romantic or awkwardly following orders? Considering Captain Kurotsuchi approved her of doing that, I can't be sure. But she did it out of orders first, THEN he approved...this hurts my head to really think about. Anyway, back to Kurosaki. How should we force him to bowl with us? Tatsuki-chan has known him longest, and Inoue-san gets a reaction from him sometimes, so this ridiculous plan may just work. Also, Inoue-san said she would take Kurosaki to her house to eat dinner or desert. Poor Kurosaki, one punishment after another. Even I'm starting to really feel bad, worse than pity, and that says a lot. I guess he wasn't quite aware that he loved Rukia before she left, the moron. So oblivious to his feelings. I really hope he gets well.

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Third Person POV

Orihime was desperately trying to get Sado to put Ichigo down and Ishida pacing behind them, and the walk to the bowling alley was a far walk. Tatsuki and the others were beginning to grow impatient before Sado walked in the door with a bored Ichigo slung over his shoulder. Orihime and Uryu sauntered in shortly afterward, laughing about anything that came up.

"Hey, Tatsuki-chan! Where did Asano-san and Kojima-kun go?" Orihime ran ahead of Ishida and asked her friend, while Sado was dropping Ichigo off at a booth by the food stands.

"Oh, they're over there," Tatsuki pointed a finger to her left, where Mizuiro was silently dodging bowling balls of all colors that Keigo had been throwing in the wrong direction: backward, left, right, and a few almost hit his own head. Orihime, ignorant to the danger, gave a small chuckle at Keigo's stupidity, while Uryu had come up behind, dropped his jaw, and slowly backed away to the booth that Sado and Ichigo were sitting at. Sliding next to Sado, Uryu tried to start small talk with his friends.

"So, what's up?" Uryu asked, turning toward Ichigo. Surprise. No response. Can he seriously be that upset about Rukia? After a few minutes of silence, Ishida offered to get food, while Inoue was busily talking away with Tatsuki by the alley. Noticing her friend getting up, Orihime sauntered over to help pay. After ordering and taking the food back to their booth, Ichigo looked up at the smell of a hotdog coming his way. Uryu had a Sprite; Orihime had Ichigo's hotdog, Coke, and her own pizza slice and Mountain Dew. Orihime wasn't in the mood for the pepperoni that was at the table, so she ordered something with everything on it. She gave a cheery smile and sat down next to Ichigo, Uryu sliding in next to Sado.

"Here, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime pushed the hotdog and Coke over to Ichigo, who hardly even blinked before blindly unwrapping the hotdog from its tin foil, restraining from shoveling it down his throat. Orihime leaned over the table and whispered to Uryu and Sado, "Is he not eating?" The men shrugged, gave Ichigo a worried look, and began continuing on their pizza. Tatsuki walked over, frustration emitting out of her reiatsu.

Orihime was the first to speak up. "Tatsuki-chan? Is something wrong?" All Tatsuki did was motion over to Mizuiro and Keigo. It looked as if Keigo had finally been hit with one of the bowling balls, and Mizuiro was fruitlessly attempting to get his insane friend to lay down on the seats in the back.

"Asano-san, you have to lay down now,"

"Never! And I thought we were friends, so don't call me by my last name!"

Tatsuki must have been caught in the middle, and with her short temper, lost her mind. Frustrated, Tatsuki slide over next to Orihime, grabbing a slice of pizza from the mostly-eaten large pepperoni pizza the group had shared. There were probably only about three slices left, enough for the idiot and his sane friend over by the alley. By this time, security had Keigo put in the back room with some ice and a spot to lay down, while Mizuiro calmly sat outside the door.

"Can't even get the idiot to bowl properly...Ichigo, how 'bout we start a new game, considering only a few of us even played..." Tatsuki said before she slumped in her seat, upset that her precious bowling time was just wasted. Ichigo only took a small sip of Coke. Rukia gone had really infected his mind, hadn't it? He hadn't been this upset since his mother passed away, and that really was saying something.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime nudged the teenager's shoulder. "Tatsuki-chan suggested bowling, does that sound good?" Ichigo glanced at the bowling lane that had been abandoned, nodded his head, and slowly stood up from his seat.

"Fine..." A low voice mumbled, barely audible to everyone except for Orihime, who listened to every word he said.

"Yay! Tatsuki-chan, Sado-kun, Ishida-kun, let's go!" Orihime bounced out of her seat, took Ichigo's left hand, and began walking ahead. Tatsuki and the gang stood up and ran to catch up to the bouncy girl.

"This will be a LONG day..." Ichigo thought as he was pulled through the crowd.

"Inoue-san! Don't pull Kurosaki so hard!"

"Hrrmn!"

"Orihime! You have to wait up!"

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To be honest, I don't like this chapter as much, but I tried to give more character viewpoints of the situation at hand. And some of the names (this person calls him by this name)…I couldn't find them anywhere! So, for a few, I sorta winged it. If you can find the name mistakes and correct them, it'll be greatly appreciated.

Good? Bad? Review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Third chapter! I'm on a roll, da? I read the reviews and took advice, so here it is! Special thanks to GuiltyIchihime for reviewing and giving me tips!**

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Turns out, Ichigo couldn't hold his new "resolution" for much longer. His sides started to feel like hell after not eating much, and it was hard not to get involved with his friends and near abusive father. After a while, and with more support from Orihime, Ichigo began to carry himself a bit better. He was slowly gaining back the weight he had lost, his skin was no longer as pale, and his eyes were no longer bloodshot. Turns out, Orihime had tried to feed him some of her home cooked meals one night, and that's when he finally snapped. He openly refused, and tried to make a run for the door to escape the purple-tinted sushi and neon-pink "sweet" soy sauce, but Orihime activated her Shun Shun Rikka to prevent his escape. Ichigo then swore that he would eat ANYTHING else, so Orihime used his promise to get him back to normal. He had to eat everything except Orihime's cooking for the next few days, and she was allowed to use a bit of force to make him eat if she had to. Thus, Ichigo is now a bit more normal. Disturbed, but normal. The joy of arguing and fighting got his senses back, except even the smallest reference to Rukia would upset him, . get into a huge fight, argue with Ishida over whatever came up, kick a wall, and then go home. Orihime and Ichigo had gotten closer, and Ichigo once pretended to enjoy a bit of her cooking. Of course, he threw up behind a bush shortly afterward, but it's the thought that counts.

"ICHIGO!" Isshin Kurosaki's voice rang through the hall before attempting to kick his son in the neck. Karin and Yuzu were in the kitchen, ignoring the moment. Ichigo simply ducked and continued into the kitchen, where a plate of French toast and a glass of orange juice waited. It had been almost a year since Rukia had left, and Ishida and Chad were in charge of any Hollows for the time being. Orihime often came to visit on the weekends or after school, and school life had picked up again. Even though Ichigo couldn't go today. Orihime had given some of her meals to Isshin, who happily accepted them. They became last night's dinner, no exceptions, so Ichigo felt a bit sick this morning. Karin and Yuzu had barely eaten any before they distracted their father and shoved it down the rest of their "meal" down the sink. Ichigo had gone to the bathroom while this had taken place and missed his chance, so he still had to eat the twitching rice balls and green…something. Even so, most of it was thanks to the auburn-haired girl anyway, and she was secretly very proud of herself. To get Ichigo to completely open up, and to her of all people, felt amazing. Satisfactory.

Orihime was in a very good mood after school, but she had nobody to share it with. Tatsuki was at the dojo, Chizuru was being...scary, Ishida was at sewing, Sado was nowhere to be found, and Ichigo didn't come to school. It surprised just about everyone when he didn't show up. Orihime, being who she is, had decided to go to Ichigo's house with some of her special "treats" she had picked up from her apartment beforehand. The bubbly girl knocked on the door and was greeted by his father, his clothes and hair an utter mess. Ichigo was in the background, his hand still balled up in a fist.

"Umm...Kurosaki-kun, what happened...?" Orihime timidly asked. Karin stepped out from downstairs, her bored eyes slightly glaring at her father.

"Dad pissed him off." Karin bluntly put out. "As usual." She then continued to wherever she was headed, her black ponytail swinging behind her. Ichigo threw a glance at Karin before noticing Orihime standing at the door. He uncurled his fists, and his whole demeanor just changed completely. He had a smile on and almost ran up to greet the shocked girl.

"Inoue! Glad you came!" Ichigo exclaimed. Very unlike himself. His goofy smiled died a little bit when he saw that she had brought food with the writing "homemade" on the tin foil in black sharpie.

"Dad, what did you do to Ichi-nii?" Karin called out from the TV room.

"Nothing! My stupid son is just oh-so happy to see a pretty girl at his door! OOH, she brought food, too-" Ichigo went red at this comment, then proceeded to kick his dad in the shins. Isshin hopped away on one leg, wincing in extreme pain.

"Shut up, you crazy old man!"

"Kurosaki-kun!"

Ichigo shrugged. "Eh, what? The old goat-chin deserved it, anyway...never knows when to stop," He put on a smaller, more Ichigo-like smile before inviting his friend inside. "Come on in, Inoue. Sorry about earlier, I was excited to get away from my stupid dad, I guess,"

"No, it's fine, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime shook her head, then turned back to fully face him. "But how come you missed school? It's unlike you to skip or anything of the sort,"

Ichigo shrugged again. "Just some morning sickness," he explained. "Probably from that bit of 'tuna' salad you made the other day…" he muttered under his breath.

"Did you say something, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime questioned, flashing back a smile that could challenge Unohana Retsu's.

"Ah, n-nothing, Inoue!" Ichigo stammered quickly. Orihime's smile brightened, then she nodded her head.

"Good! I, umm, do you want to, I don't know, see a movie with, umm, me this weekend?" Orihime asked carefully, blushing scarlet. She didn't know what prompted her to ask him on a date like that! Stupid her! But Ichigo's face said different. He looked surprised, but happy. He blushed a bit, shook it off, and then gave Orihime a smile. One could almost hear Yuzu squealing from the kitchen at the sound of where this was going.

"I would love to, Inoue. Sounds fun, what movie?" Cue the louder squeals, the ones that were there for sure. Orihime was at a loss for words. First, he ACCEPTED. Second, she hadn't planned what movie to watch with her long-time crush! She hadn't expected to ask, nor did she expect a "yes". It was bad, she almost dropped her delicious deserts!

"I-I was going to, umm, let you pick it! Yeah!" Orihime jumped a bit at the statement. Great recovery! Ichigo thought for a second, then zoned back in on Orihime as she heavily blushed.

"I heard there was a good movie that just came out last week,"

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**Okays! Ichihime fluff- Coming soon to an update near you! Well, two. I plan the next chapter to be some IshiNemu fluff. Yes, I think they look cute together, but whatevs if you don't. Excitement! Thrills! Review!**


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